1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a safety device for a technical device and an associated emergency activation apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Monitoring elements for technical devices are increasingly realized as remote controls. On the one hand, this provides the advantage that the monitoring elements need not be located only in the immediate vicinity of the device, and on the other hand does not require additional cables for the signal line for a radio-supported or other wireless remote control.
However, wireless signal connections exhibit the disadvantage that their reliability can under certain circumstances be less than that of hardware-based connections. This difficulty is to be viewed as particularly critical with regard to emergency activation means, in particular with regard to what are known as E-stop switches or dead-man switches. E-stop switches serve to immediately stop or deactivate technical devices given unforeseeable situations that endanger the safety of the users, for example. Other emergency measures can, for example, provide for the deactivation of system parts, shielding of radiation sources or sources of chemical substances, or covering of mechanical devices such as saws.
In work environments with particularly high requirements for operating safety, it is therefore necessary to provide emergency activation means (to trigger emergency measures for technical devices) that are connected to the technical device via a hardware-based connection, for example via a cable or a direct contact. It should therewith be ensured that the emergency activation function is available at any time and independent of possible interferences with wireless signal connections. Emergency activation means can comprise the most varied structural and functional shapes and are integrated modularly into technical devices.
However, the requirement to physically connect the emergency activation means on a hardware basis has the disadvantage that they cannot be flexibly spatially positioned. While wirelessly connected operating elements are fundamentally freely movable, a emergency activation means connected via hardware can normally only be operated at a fixed position at the associated technical device. While the monitoring of such a device can by all means be possible with remote control, thus from anywhere, a disconnection due to an emergency is, for example, only possible at the emergency activation means itself.